Forest Essentials – Rasa and Tejal Review

My obsession for the lovely brand Forest Essentials is pretty well-known amongst my friends and family. This brand is pretty well-loved on my blog too (huge hauls with reviews here and here).

On my recent trip to India, it was no surprise that I popped into one of Forest Essential’s store and picked up their new offerings – Rasa (Activating Serum) and Tejal (Hydrating Toner).

Before diving into anything, I just want to shed light on the fact that skincare tends to be a personal experience. If something works, or doesn’t work for me, it doesn’t mean that the next person would have the same experience because of many different factors such as skin type, location and environment, age, dietary habits, and more. I have tried to focus on ingredients, and how the products translated on my skin type which is combination that leans dry in winter, and oily in summer.

Read on for my review of these new offerings in the FE lineup, and grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee, as there is a lot I have to say!

Rasa Activating Serum US$ 50 | INR 2750 for 30ml

Ingredients and Packaging: The ingredients of this serum appeared to be potent – licorice root extract, orange peel extract, barley root extract, litchi root extract, green tea leaf extract, honey, and sweet potato based hyaluronic acid (hyaluronic acid is a hydrating agent for the skin), and more. Rasa seems to be on the pricey side, and I’m not too impressed with the ingredients offered in this one. Having said that, my skin feels velvety and nourished upon applying 1-2 drops of this serum all over the face, but not well-hydrated. Which is why, you need to follow up with Tejal balancing toner water or any other hydrating toner after this step.

The packaging is a convenient dropper style, much like FE’s red banana under eye serum (hauled and reviewed here). I think I have a faulty dropper, as it seems to always trap in air bubbles, and I have to really struggle to pick up product through the dropper.

Use/Application: the serum is an activating type of serum, which is to be applied first after cleansing. Then, follow it up with a hydrating toner/lotion – FE recommends their Tejal Hydrating Toner as a follow up to seal in the potency of Rasa.

Do I recommend: Sure, if you don’t mind splurging on a product which has some beautiful ingredients – however, the value for money is something I find amiss with this product. The bottle is not going to last me beyond 2-3 months. If you are planning on getting it, get it for the ingredients, as I cannot think of any other dupes with even half the ingredients as this one. As a more potent alternative, I might suggest FE’s Anti-aging Soundarya serum – I swatched this in store and it had that beautiful “glow-inducing” finish on the skin (Also expensive though, why FE whyy)!

Tejal Hydrating Toner US$ 30 | INR 1875 for 200ml

Ingredients and Packaging: This toner was on my radar because of its superstar ingredients: Centella Asiatica Extract (a rage in the skincare industry currently because of its nourishing healing properties), fermented Soya Bean seed extract (fermentation enhances the potency of skincare, and is also hugely popular in skincare right now), aloe vera (another skincare superstar), mandarin peel extract, and sweet potato based hyaluronic acid. These ingredients made it a covet-worthy item. This is packed in a tall 200 ml bottle, so you are getting a fair amount of product for the price, and I would as such call it decent value for money.

Use/Application: Use as a follow up to Rasa activating serum, as recommended by FE. If you haven’t invested in Rasa, you can use this directly after your cleansing step. The texture is a slightly thick viscous liquid. A few drops are enough to cover the face and neck. I prefer patting the product into the skin, as opposed to rubbing or massaging it in. Also, I go in for two layers of this, as it is really lightweight, and feels great and nourishing on the skin.

Do I recommend: The price is again hurtful, but the product itself is quite lovely. The pros are the ingredients, but the con is that it is a bit underwhelming in terms of hydration. You can find similar, and even more hydrating products in Korean skincare (hauled here, and another haul+review coming soon). While this feels lovely on the skin, I was a tad underwhelmed in terms of the suppleness of the skin. In short, it is hydrating, but not hydrating enough.

Final Recommendation

I enjoy using both Rasa and Tejal, and neither of them broke my skin out, so that is a huge relief! But, to be honest, I picked up Rasa only because Rasa and Tejal were recommended to be used together. I would say – give Tejal Balancing Water a try, whether you have dry skin or oily skin. Tejal is a more hydrating product than the floral waters by FE with great ingredients specific to providing hydration to the skin, which you’re sure you enjoy irrespective of your skin type. Pick up Rasa if you’re missing a serum in your routine, or if you have an oily skin type and are looking for something light, but there are other serums in FE line, and on the market in general which can also be explored.

I was personally very happy with the way the pictures turned out as well. One has to hand it to FE for their attractive product packaging!

I will continue to use Rasa and Tejal together. The upcoming summer months are a perfect time to enjoy these products in daytime skincare routine to provide your skin with light hydration, without making skin feel dense or overwhelmed.

I will update this post if I have an altered opinion of Rasa! Until then, save your money, and just go for Tejal.

Here is the link to check out these products: Rasa Activating Serum and Tejal Balancing Toner

Hope you found this review useful! I take reviews seriously, which is why I end up with an inevitably long post! If you liked this post, hit the Like button, and let me know your favourite FE products, or if you have nay product on your wishlist!

 

I have so many things to review, so many blog post ideas, and so much content planned! Keep updated by following my blog via email, and also check out my Instagram page here.

Until next time, wish you great skin-health!

 

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, and there are no affiliate links in this post. The products reviewed here were purchased by me. Before using any new skincare or beauty product, always do a patch test, as different people react to products differently.